OpenGarden launches FireChat Alerts to help people communicate without mobile networks

India is a big market for FireChat, with 1.5 million users, who on an average use FireChat three times a day.

ETTelecom

May 19, 2016, 19:24 IST

NEW DELHI: Open Garden has rolled out FireChat Alerts app, the first alerting service to leverage peer-to-peer mobile mesh networking technology. The app enables organizations to reach people on their smartphone, even when cellular networks and Internet access are unavailable.

The United Nations estimated that more than 200 million people are affected by humanitarian crises and natural disasters each year. As world leaders prepare for the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently published a report that highlighted how "Honouring our commitment to leave no one behind requires reaching everyone in situations of conflict, disaster, vulnerability and risk." FireChat Alerts was created for this purpose.

The FireChat Alerts app is available for mobile devices and the web. The company said that the app is designed for governmental organizations, NGOs and media to broadcast and disseminate 'one-to-very-many' alerts to mobile devices within a specific geographical area and period of time. FireChat Alerts acts as a resilient large-scale broadcasting system, reaching people's smartphones to deliver text and visual information including early warning, emergency and health advisories, as well as weather and traffic information.

Alerts are transmitted directly from one smartphone to the next via Open Garden's peer-to-peer mesh networking technology. This is the first time that messages can transit through a brand new path: our own smartphones, instead of centralized networks. Each device can store and forward the alerts, allowing them to propagate and reach more and more people, and extending the reach of messages beyond the abilities of traditional networks.

"FireChat Alerts can reach more people than is possible via traditional networks, even when mobile apps or SMS cannot work. Since the technology is 100% software-based, it does not require any hardware or capital investments, is easy to deploy, and scales infinitely," said Christophe Daligault, CMO of Open Garden.

"As an active member of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Community Engagement, we are extremely grateful for the collaboration with the UNOCHA and the opportunity to raise awareness for the benefits of this new resilient technology," Daligault said.

People who have the FireChat messaging app on their smartphone receive the alerts as they spread within the designated area, even when cellular networks and Internet access are unavailable or congested, as is often the case in an emergency. Open Garden's technology is also available as a Software Development Kit (SDK) for organizations who wish to enable peer-to-peer mobile communications in their own existing apps or services.

Jio’s Rs 2,399 annual plan offers 2GB per day data that costs effectively Rs 200 per month. It also offers unlimited voice and SMS. Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s Rs 2398 and Rs 2399 annual plans, on the other hand, offer 1.5GB per day data along with unlimited voice and SMS